Innovation Thrives in Difficult Times
Innovation thrives in difficult times.
HP, the original garage start up, launched in the middle of the Great Depression. Television, nylon and many of the fundamental technologies that led to computers also had their beginnings in those times - partly because the times were so unfavorable to traditional business. If companies and entrepreneurs could find it within themselves to innovate then - when things were much, much worse than they are today, what's your excuse for holding back now?
The entire lean movement grew out of a severe economic crisis. In post-World War II Japan, Toyota had to figure out how to make cars when the money wasn't there to invest in mass production manufacturing processes. The creative means they developed to eliminate cash-consuming inventory from their production system became the foundations of the Toyota Production System, which became Lean.
Difficult times bring out the scrappiness - the "let's go down to Fry's and see what we can put together" spirit - that creates breakthroughs by forcing people to challenge their assumptions if they want to see their ideas come to fruition.
Right now, good people are available who were too busy two years ago. Office space is easier to get. Vendors are more willing to give good deals to secure customers. A little cash can go a lot farther.
Is this time to launch the skunkworks you've always dreamed of, but couldn't afford the distraction? Is this time to take advantage of the need to slow production to decommission inefficient equipment and bring in new green technology? What opportunities do you have now that you don't have during boom times? What can you do today that will drive your personal recovery?
If you need inspiration, here is an article from December's Wired Magazine"" Back to the Garage: How Economic Turmoil Breeds Innovation.
HP, the original garage start up, launched in the middle of the Great Depression. Television, nylon and many of the fundamental technologies that led to computers also had their beginnings in those times - partly because the times were so unfavorable to traditional business. If companies and entrepreneurs could find it within themselves to innovate then - when things were much, much worse than they are today, what's your excuse for holding back now?
The entire lean movement grew out of a severe economic crisis. In post-World War II Japan, Toyota had to figure out how to make cars when the money wasn't there to invest in mass production manufacturing processes. The creative means they developed to eliminate cash-consuming inventory from their production system became the foundations of the Toyota Production System, which became Lean.
Difficult times bring out the scrappiness - the "let's go down to Fry's and see what we can put together" spirit - that creates breakthroughs by forcing people to challenge their assumptions if they want to see their ideas come to fruition.
Right now, good people are available who were too busy two years ago. Office space is easier to get. Vendors are more willing to give good deals to secure customers. A little cash can go a lot farther.
Is this time to launch the skunkworks you've always dreamed of, but couldn't afford the distraction? Is this time to take advantage of the need to slow production to decommission inefficient equipment and bring in new green technology? What opportunities do you have now that you don't have during boom times? What can you do today that will drive your personal recovery?
If you need inspiration, here is an article from December's Wired Magazine"" Back to the Garage: How Economic Turmoil Breeds Innovation.
posted by Katherine Radeka
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4:03 PM
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